42. Epilogue
I love you as high as airplanes fly.
Two months later
“I love being up here with you.” Colin had flown for work, but today was the first time he’d been up in the air with Mari just because it was the perfect day. The sun had set fifteen minutes ago and they were still in that twilight stage where it wasn’t completely dark out yet.
“Same.” She spoke over her headset, pure joy in her face as she looked down at the water, still visible as they headed up the coast.
They’d spent the day together, just the two of them, stopping at a couple airports for gas, lunch, shopping, and now they were headed home. She’d basically moved in with him, but he wanted something permanent.
Mari was the one, something he’d known for a while. Now he just wanted to make it official. And even though he was relatively sure she’d say yes… Okay, maybe he wasn’t. He had no doubt that she loved him.
She showed him every day.
But this was a big step for both of them, two people who’d been perpetually single for most of their lives. Both of their “great loves” were airplanes. They really were meant to be together.
“Hey, there’s something going on over there.” She pointed. “I can’t make out what it is.”
He turned the airplane toward the little uninhabited island because he knew exactly what it was. As he flew, he dropped their elevation to about a thousand feet so their approach would be crystal clear.
“Oh my god!” Mari gasped as he flew lower, making sure her side of the plane faced the island and the strategically placed battery-powered candles that spelled out Will you marry me, Mari? Some of his friends and her friends had spent the last few hours setting everything up for them. He owed all of them for such a huge undertaking.
“Is that…” She looked over at him, and in the dimness of the cockpit he could see tears glittering in her eyes.
“Marry me?” he asked, fear and elation pumping through him, the milliseconds seeming to go on forever as he pulled out the ring he’d been holding on to.
“Yes!” She grinned at him, looking as if she was ready to jump him as he slid the simple band onto her finger. Mari would hate something flashy, so he’d gone with his instincts and selected a simple gold band with two engraved airplanes. Cheesy? Probably, but he didn’t care. They could be cheesy together.
“I should have thought this through better,” he growled before he leaned over, gave her a quick kiss. Because they couldn’t do anything until they were firmly on the ground.
“No, this is perfect.” She looked at the band, then back at him. “You’re perfect. I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” He heard his phone pinging through his Bluetooth headset, knew it was his friends from the ground texting to ask about the proposal, but he’d get back to them later .
She looked back at the island as he flew a little lower, showing off for everyone below even though he couldn’t see them. “You’ve really set yourself up now. I don’t know how you compete with something like this.”
“I plan on spending the rest of my life one-upping myself for you.” Because she deserved the best.
“Okay now I’m crying for real.” She batted away her tears as she leaned in, kissed him again, just briefly. “Now let’s get back to the hangar and get naked.”
“Hell yeah. We can officially break your plane in.”
And start the rest of their lives.
Thank you so much for reading Fighting for Mari.